FAIT Committee Report
If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.
CONFLICT, HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY IN
COLOMBIA: A CANADIAN AGENDA
…Colombia is not a country of drug lords, savages or people who are genetically inclined to war. Colombia is a country which, in spite of a gross inequity and the circumstances of abuse created within and outside the country by a minority, has one of the most creative diversities of people who have a right to live in this world, as Garcia Marquez said …(when receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982)
Emmanuel Rosenthal
Spokesperson, Pueblos Hermanos Lazos Visibles,
Ottawa, December 19992
Canada has consistently condemned all forms of terrorism. No cause or requirement can ever justify innocent civilian casualties.
Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham,
Statement to the Standing Committee on
Foreign Affairs and International Trade,
18 April 20023
In February 2002, the Sub-Committee on Human Rights and International Development visited Colombia as the last phase of its hearings into the complex and tragic situation in that country.
4 At the time of this visit, Canada and other like-minded countries in the G-10 Facilitation Commission had recently worked with the acting Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on Colombia, James LeMoyne — whom the Sub-Committee had met in Ottawa — to help convince the Government of Colombia and the largest of the country’s armed insurgent groups, the 17,000-strong Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), not to abandon peace talks begun in 1998.5 Continued FARC attacks had hardened public opinion, however, and many of those the Sub-Committee met in early February believed, at a minimum, that the peace process would change significantly following the election of a new and probably more hard-line Colombian government in May 2002.Following a hijacking and the kidnapping of a prominent Colombian Senator on 20 February, President Andres Pastrana announced the end of the peace process, and ordered the Colombian military to retake a large "demilitarized" zone he had ceded to the FARC to encourage peace talks. The weeks that followed saw both military operations and increased FARC attacks — mainly on infrastructure. While both civilian and military casualties rose, however, this fortunately did not constitute the immediate "bloodbath" many had feared.
These developments have changed the current situation in Colombia, and therefore immediate priorities, which must be to protect Colombian civilians — in particular the victims of the conflict — and to encourage an agreement on humanitarian principles, such as an end to kidnapping and the targeting of civilians, which might eventually form the basis for another round of peace talks. Given that fighting with the FARC has increased and a new government will be elected in the coming months, it is also critically important that, in addition to protecting civilians from attacks by the guerrillas, the Government of Colombia redouble its efforts to combat right-wing "self-defence" — more often called "paramilitary" forces — which are generally held to be responsible for the majority of human rights abuses in Colombia.
While the focus of the Sub-Committee’s work has been the human rights situation in Colombia, in order to properly frame its recommendations for long-term Canadian policy, it has been necessary to consider related issues such as conflict resolution, strengthening democracy and combatting the drug trade.
After many hearings and discussions in Ottawa and Colombia, Sub-Committee members believe that the general lines of Canadian policy on Colombia are correct: strong support for Colombia’s democratic government and for a negotiated settlement of the armed conflict, the energetic protection and promotion of human rights both on the ground in Colombia and internationally, and humanitarian assistance. Given its diplomatic capital in the region and other resources, however, members believe that Canada can and should do even more. Specific recommendations follow, and, more generally, Canada should be more forceful in telling the story of Colombia on the international stage.
The Colombian government argues that, as a democracy facing well-armed "narco-terrorists," it should be helped by other countries rather than criticized for what it admits are human rights and other problems. The Government of Canada and members of the Sub-Committee condemn all acts of terrorism. Yet while Sub-Committee members acknowledge the very difficult position of the Government of Colombia as its struggles to increase its capacity, power and credibility with all sectors of society, they stress that it does not have to do so alone. Friendly countries such as Canada will continue to support democratic institutions in Colombia, and will cooperate with it both bilaterally and multilaterally through key mechanisms such as the United Nations. If Colombia is to resolve its many problems and reap the rewards of its rich natural and human resources, Canada and other members of the international community must increase their actions in this regard.
Sub-Committee members who visited the country were impressed with the leadership shown by Canada’s Ambassador to Colombia, Guillermo Rishchynski, and the dedication and competence of the entire Canadian embassy team in Bogotá. Yet policy must go beyond individuals, and the Sub-Committee hopes this report will serve as a marker for current and future Canadian policy toward Colombia.
2
House of Commons
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Evidence, 2
December 1999, p. 23. (Further references
will
be to Evidence).
3 April 18 SCFAIT Presentation by the Honourable Bill Graham, Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Situation in the Middle East, p. 3.
4
This report will not attempt to summarize the testimony heard by the Sub-Committee on
Human Rights and International Development,
but members
urge those interested in reading it to visit .
5
In addition to Canada, the G-10 countries are: Sweden, France, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela,
Norway, Spain, Italy and Switzerland.
Canada was also a member of the Support Group for the Peace Process, which includes 26
countries plus the United Nations and the
Vatican, and the informal but high-level Brussels Group. Apart from the FARC process, less
formal talks were underway with the second
largest Marxist insurgent group, the ELN (National Liberation Army).